I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for generating an acoustic signal as a product of surface arc discharge between two electrodes.
II. Description of Related Art
There are many previously known devices which rely upon an electric arc discharge between two electrodes to generate an acoustic pulse of high volume. Such devices have many uses, but are particularly useful for crowd control and as a non-lethal weapon.
One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,903,518 to Benwell et al. In the Benwell et al. patent, a pair of spaced electrodes are contained within a housing and separated by an air gap. A high voltage power supply is electrically connected to the electrodes so that a high voltage electric potential is created between the electrodes.
In order to initiate the electric arc between the electrodes across the air gap, a high voltage signal is applied to a trigger electrode positioned in between the electrodes. The potential between the trigger electrode and the main electrodes is then sufficient to ionize the air between the electrodes thus forming an electrically conductive path and creating an arc discharge between the electrodes. A high volume acoustic pulse, in addition to heat and light, results from the arc discharge.
The previously known devices for generating an acoustic pulse using an arc discharge across an air gap, however, are disadvantageous for several reasons. One disadvantage of these previously known devices is that the distance between the electrodes, and thus the ultimate length of the electric arc between the electrodes, is limited which limits the length of the electric arc discharge. This limited length for the electric arc discharge limits the acoustical output from the device.
While it is possible to increase the length of the arc discharge through air by increasing the high voltage power supply applied to the electrodes, the use of such extremely high voltage power sources is not only expensive, but also potentially hazardous.